Emily Dickinson

Through the Strait Pass of Suffering

poem 792

Through the Strait Pass of Suffering - meaning Summary

Suffering as Spiritual Passage

Dickinson frames suffering as a narrow passage walked by martyrs whose bodily trials contrast with an unwavering spiritual gaze toward God. The poem presents endurance as disciplined and almost ceremonial: temptations beneath their feet, faces fixed on the divine. Images of meteors and a compass needle suggest their harmless, transient torments and a persistent moral orientation. Faith is portrayed as an enduring pledge that keeps them steady through hardship.

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Through the strait pass of suffering The Martyrs even trod. Their feet upon Temptations Their faces upon God A stately shriven Company Con vulsion playing round Harmless as streaks of Meteor Upon a Planet’s Bond Their faith the everlasting troth Their Expectation fair The Needle to the North Degree Wades so thro’ polar Air!

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